


A Lockdown Tale

by Ravenclaw_Scientist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Coming Out, Family, LGBTQ Themes, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24166021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenclaw_Scientist/pseuds/Ravenclaw_Scientist
Summary: Nobody can go out, the internet is down and Hugo is being shady about something.Just Ron being a good dad and trying to work the internet.Written for down-in-flames modern AU challenge over on HPFT.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	A Lockdown Tale

Nobody had expected this muggle supervirus to lock down the wizarding world but the best potioneers hadn’t been able to come up with either a cure or treatment. The best available healer masks weren’t good enough to slow the spread either. Hermione Granger (Minister of Magic), did not agree with the herd immunity approach that the muggles were employing. She wanted to keep her population safe, so they were resigned to staying inside with their families as much as the muggles, awaiting a treatment. 

Hogwarts had been closed for over a month and there were constantly owls flying into the house with school work. If it weren’t for the fact that most of the muggles were inside, Hermione would have been worried that the sheer enormity of daytime owl activity would disrupt the Statute of Secrecy. She had been on the phone to the Headmistress almost daily to try to convince her to use the internet like everyone else in the Wizarding World. Somehow, Professor McGonogal was convinced that she had to protect the privacy of their schoolwork, despite every effort being made to ensure that the servers were safe from muggle eyes. 

Rose and Hugo Granger-Weasley were starting to adjust to the change of pace in their lives. Rose couldn’t get enough of being able to fly late into the night due to waking up at 9:52am and rolling out of bed to begin work at 9. Hugo had turned into the house spy, enjoying overhearing top secret Ministry news from their mothers office, attempting to hack into their online food orders to increase the overall sugar content and attempting to prank every appliance in the house. Ron had particularly enjoyed having to wash off a significant amount of paint from the inside of the dishwasher. 

The most entertaining part of quarantine for both Rose and Hugo was watching Ron attempt to run his business remotely. George was cycling into Weaseley’s Wizard Wheezes every day to package equipment and send it off to customers in need of a laugh. Thankfully, George lived close to Diagon Alley as floo networks had been shut off and apparition had been banned to prevent large gatherings. Much to his dismay, Ron’s job was to ensure that the website was kept up to date with stock and that the payment system was working properly. The Weasley Wizard Wheezes internet server was down for the sixth time this week, so this was easier said than done.

It was Wednesday. Ron was on cup of tea number ten and if he was really honest, he’d be on the beer soon. He had lost count of the number of hours he’d spend on hold on the phone this week, trying to get it fixed. The main thing that Ron didn’t understand was how Hermione was able to boost her internet servers at the Ministry with magic but he somehow wasn’t allowed to. 

“We can’t have everyone doing it, Ron. The muggles will notice,” She had reminded him whilst bringing in cup of tea number six.

Hermione Granger had decided that it was somehow unfair for wizards to have ‘super wifi’, except for important Ministry business, several years ago. Ron could curse that bylaw, people needed jokes now more than ever and they were losing orders. After this was over, Ron was planning to personally create a wizarding internet service that was fully hackable by all who needed it.

The hold music blaring out of his phone stopped and Ron’s heart leapt. Finally, he thought, he was going to speak to a real human! 

“Please hold, your call is important to us. You can find out more information and visit our FAQs on our website.” A polite voice came from the phone. 

“You bloody smug woman!” Ron picked up the phone, ready to throw it across the room for some momentary relief but his arm was stopped in mid-air by a strong arm. 

“Dad, the internet is down, we all need you.” He looked down to see his fourteen-year-old daughter, Rose, still in her pyjamas even though it was three in the afternoon. “I need the wifi back up before 7pm so I can do my team workout and Hugo wants to play exploding snap from 6pm. We have three hours.” 

“How exactly is he going to play exploding snap on the internet?” Ron asked, setting down the phone on his desk.

Rose shrugged. “I don’t understand the boy but I know he needs the internet,” she sighed. “I’ve tried asking mum but she isn't having it. If it was the school work she’d let us use her server.” 

“Rose, if you’re allowed to use her server and I’m not, I will have to seriously question the dynamics in this household,” Ron sighed, slumping down into his office chair. “Should we go and have our daily look at the wires that we don’t understand?”

“No,” Rose replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “I'm mid-way through typing up my notes for today to try and convince Professor McGonogal to switch to online lessons. Honestly, does she think that our school work is going to be hit with a phishing attack? They want money, not poorly written notes from a fourteen-year-old. Get the net back up dad, I believe in you!” 

Rose twirled out of the room and stomped down the corridor. Dantiness had never been a strong-point for that girl, always finding a way to make more noise. 

“Please hold, your call is important to us. You can find out more information and visit our FAQs on our website.”

Ron decided to see if his son wanted to have a bonding session near the telephone wire in the kitchen. Making sure to bring the phone with him, he turned to walk down the hallway and pushed open Hugo’s door. 

“No! Not again,” said Hugo. He was bent over a notebook, scribbling in untidy handwriting. 

“Is this schoolwork?” Ron asked, walking up to him and peering over his notes. 

Hugo snapped the book shut. “That is none of your business father. All you need to know is that it is very important and I don’t have time to risk my life touching live electrical wires today,” Hugo said, glaring up at his dad. 

“Did you just ‘father’ me? A little less attitude or that notebook will be confiscated for my viewing pleasure,” Ron warned. He sat down at the foot of Hugo’s bed and pulled his son's office chair around so they were face to face. “I don’t want to risk my life alone, son.” 

“So you would pull your only son away from his very important business?” Hugo tried to twist the chair back around to face his desk, but Ron had a strong grip on it. “Please let go dad, I need to re-draft and get this sent.” 

“Maybe if you tell me what it is, I’ll leave you alone,” Ron suggested.

The hold music stopped. There was silence in the room for a few, long seconds. 

“Please hold, your call is important to us. You can find out more information and visit our FAQs on our website.”

Hugo brought his face up to the phone. “Come on, nice internet lady, I need you.”

“Why is your game of exploding snap so important?” Ron frowned. His son was being unusually shady about this. 

“Wow. Rose actually brought that,” Hugo smiled. “Sorry, you know that it’s important to lie to Rose sometimes for your own sanity.”

“You better not be lying to me, Hugo,” said Ron, in his best parent voice. 

Hugo shrugged. “I’ve got a Facetime date. I was planning what we’re going to do. It isn’t a secret.” 

“Oh,” Ron was slightly taken aback. That was not what he was expecting from his thirteen-year-old son. He and Hermione didn’t have archaic rules on their children dating (although Ron did get a little sketchy when Rose had suggested that Scropius Malfoy was ‘getting buff’ over dinner once, later to find out he was gay and the least threatening young man he could ever meet). Rose and Hugo were technically free to show interest in whomever they wanted but he had expected Hugo to at least try to lie about it like Rose had. 

“Dad? Is that ok?” Hugo asked, confused at why his father had paused. 

Ron snapped back to the present. “Yes, of course. Thank you for being honest with me. Who’s the lucky girl?” He paused and when Hugo didn’t say anything, added, “Or boy. Boy?” Really great, inclusive parenting there.

Hugo sighed. “It’s a boy on Rose’s Quidditch team, which is why I don’t want her to know about it for now. She’d go mental at her own brother distracting her squad.” 

“Okay,” Ron was not expecting this conversation to lead to his youngest child coming out. “How long have you been feeling this way?”

“Please hold, your call is important to us. You can find out more information and visit our FAQs on our website.”

“Oh, shut it, internet lady. Not now,” Ron cursed the phone. 

“It’s ok, dad,” Hugo read his dad's flustered mannerisms well. “Do you mean how long have I known I was into boys?”

Ron nodded. He wasn’t sure if he should hang up the phone and focus on his son but he didn’t want to ruin his date by having no wifi. He decided to leave it to the side and ignore it as much as possible. “Yes. Not that it matters at all to me.”

Hugo smiled. It was cute how much his dad was trying. “I’ve always known. As soon as Rose was expressing boys she was into, I was into them too. I don’t feel like I really need to come out though, you and mum were so cool about Albus, I was just waiting for someone to be gay with.”

“Does Rose know then?” Ron asked, curious. 

“Yeah, I only lie to her about her own quidditch team, which is very important for my general wellbeing,” Hugo replied. “I think everyone at school knows. I was talking to Albus, who had a much more dramatic coming out story that I was very interested in, and Rox overheard. So naturally everyone knows.”

Having that many relatives at school had benefits and weaknesses, which Ron knew about very well. ”I’m glad you didn’t mind the gossip. I’m proud of you,” Ron smiled. 

“I will be proud of you if you get the internet back up so that I can look adorable,” said Hugo. “My charm works for itself of course but only if I’m visible.” 

There was a ping on the phone and a woman's voice rang out of the loudspeaker. “Hello? How can I help you today?”

Hugo lurched forward to the phone. “Hello! Kind lady! Our internet is down and I have my first ever date tonight over Facetime, please help me. Save our souls!”

Ron reached out and grabbed the phone. With the most technological agility of his life, he turned off speakerphone and pulled the phone to his ear. “I am so sorry for my son. Although he has a point. We’re going a bit mental here and this has been happening all week. No, I can’t see anything wrong with the router.”

“I only speak the truth dad,” Hugo called out.

Ron turned around, politely declining all of the silly, easy solutions the lady was offering (they clearly needed an emergency engineer to fix a serious problem) and looked to his son, who was once again frantically scribbling his date plans. He leant his free arm out and squeezed him on the shoulder, Hugo looking up and grinning at him. This lockdown may have them all going crazy, but being able to witness such a special moment in his son's life that he otherwise would have missed made him grateful. Just for a second.


End file.
